Money isn't everything, but for most employees, the numbers after the dollar sign on the front of their paychecks do matter quite a bit. Employee benefits also play a big role in defining what a great place to work is. With that in mind, job listing site Indeed tapped its database of 18 million employee reviews to find the top 15 U.S. employers, as ranked by compensation and benefits. The site took into account the most common benefits — health insurance, parental leave, stock options and company…
Reported by bizjournals 18 hours ago.
Pacific Northwest companies land among nation's top 10 for pay and benefits
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Staffers say these companies offer best pay and benefits
Money isn't everything, but for most employees, the numbers after the dollar sign on the front of their paychecks do matter quite a bit. Employee benefits also play a big role in defining a great place to work. With that in mind, job listing site Indeed tapped its database of 18 million employee reviews to find the top 15 U.S. employers, as ranked by compensation and benefits. See the top 10 in the attached gallery. The site took into account the most common benefits — health insurance, parental…
Reported by bizjournals 18 hours ago.
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TERACO Announces HIPAA and HITECH Compliance, Becoming One of a Select Few HIPAA Compliant Card Manufacturers in the Insurance Card Industry
Attaining HIPAA Compliance marks an important milestone in Teraco’s evolution as an industry leader in providing a secure-access-control manufacturing, personalization and fulfillment environment for all of our customers.
MIDLAND, Texas (PRWEB) March 01, 2018
Teraco, http://www.teraco.com, announced today the results of an extensive audit conducted to qualify its production facility to work in the Healthcare Sector. Third Party Experts in the Secured Payment and Insurance Card Industry determined Teraco to be well positioned to securely receive and process sensitive data, including Personal Health Information “PHI” and Personally Identifiable Information “PII,” and process product requiring confidentiality and physical protections as determined by HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules and HITECH Meaningful Use Requirements. Implemented across a 120-Day test period, a comprehensive Physical and Logical security controls risk assessment was utilized to codify Teraco’s compliance status.
Teraco Chairman & CEO, Harrison A. Bubrosky congratulated the Team, “Guy Meeker, President & CEO, led a highly successful project by establishing and documenting a program of continuous physical and logical security controls in order to attain HIPAA Compliance. The Team demonstrated a very strong and cohesive work ethic during the entirety of a demanding and complicated process.” Meeker commented, “This marks an important milestone in Teraco’s evolution as an industry leader in providing a secure-access-control manufacturing, personalization and fulfillment environment for all of our Customers.” Bubrosky explained “As a result of the sharp increase and extent of data breaches across Corporate America, Teraco made a conscious decision to establish a 360 Degree Security Platform for our Closed-Loop Card Market Customer.”
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) of 1996 was signed into law on August 21, 1996. Title II of HIPAA establishes policies and procedures for maintaining the privacy and the security of individually identifiable health information.
About Teraco: Teraco partners best in class manufacturing and personalization capabilities with custom software and platform services to deliver Brand-Building-Plastic-Card-Solutions to the Gift, Loyalty, Healthcare, and Hospitality markets. Our customers include Fortune 500 Company’s, Payment Processors, and Small Businesses, all of whom rely on Teraco’s commitment to Best Practices in consistently delivering the highest quality product, service and data security standards.
Company Contacts:
Guy Meeker
President & COO
432-681-6605
guy.meeker(at)teraco(dot)com
Teraco Manufacturing Facility
2080 Commerce Drive
Midland, TX 79703
800-687-3999
http://www.teraco.com Reported by PRWeb 18 hours ago.
MIDLAND, Texas (PRWEB) March 01, 2018
Teraco, http://www.teraco.com, announced today the results of an extensive audit conducted to qualify its production facility to work in the Healthcare Sector. Third Party Experts in the Secured Payment and Insurance Card Industry determined Teraco to be well positioned to securely receive and process sensitive data, including Personal Health Information “PHI” and Personally Identifiable Information “PII,” and process product requiring confidentiality and physical protections as determined by HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules and HITECH Meaningful Use Requirements. Implemented across a 120-Day test period, a comprehensive Physical and Logical security controls risk assessment was utilized to codify Teraco’s compliance status.
Teraco Chairman & CEO, Harrison A. Bubrosky congratulated the Team, “Guy Meeker, President & CEO, led a highly successful project by establishing and documenting a program of continuous physical and logical security controls in order to attain HIPAA Compliance. The Team demonstrated a very strong and cohesive work ethic during the entirety of a demanding and complicated process.” Meeker commented, “This marks an important milestone in Teraco’s evolution as an industry leader in providing a secure-access-control manufacturing, personalization and fulfillment environment for all of our Customers.” Bubrosky explained “As a result of the sharp increase and extent of data breaches across Corporate America, Teraco made a conscious decision to establish a 360 Degree Security Platform for our Closed-Loop Card Market Customer.”
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) of 1996 was signed into law on August 21, 1996. Title II of HIPAA establishes policies and procedures for maintaining the privacy and the security of individually identifiable health information.
About Teraco: Teraco partners best in class manufacturing and personalization capabilities with custom software and platform services to deliver Brand-Building-Plastic-Card-Solutions to the Gift, Loyalty, Healthcare, and Hospitality markets. Our customers include Fortune 500 Company’s, Payment Processors, and Small Businesses, all of whom rely on Teraco’s commitment to Best Practices in consistently delivering the highest quality product, service and data security standards.
Company Contacts:
Guy Meeker
President & COO
432-681-6605
guy.meeker(at)teraco(dot)com
Teraco Manufacturing Facility
2080 Commerce Drive
Midland, TX 79703
800-687-3999
http://www.teraco.com Reported by PRWeb 18 hours ago.
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Here's Why Health Insurance Innovations Is Soaring Today
Traders cheer after the company posts better-than-expected quarterly results and shares upbeat guidance.
Reported by Motley Fool 14 hours ago.
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Health Insurance Innovations' (HIIQ) CEO Gavin Southwell on Q4 2017 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Reported by SeekingAlpha 13 hours ago.
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Killing Obamacare's coverage mandate will cut enrollment but leave California's marketplace stable, study says
California’s individual health insurance market will probably see a sharp drop in enrollment but should remain stable after Congress eliminated the requirement for individuals to carry coverage, a Harvard-led study published Thursday found.
The federal tax reform act in December removed the individual... Reported by L.A. Times 9 hours ago.
The federal tax reform act in December removed the individual... Reported by L.A. Times 9 hours ago.
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Latest 2017 ez1095 ACA Software Has A Function For Companies To Send Recipient Copies in PDF Form
Latest 2017 ez1095 Affordable Care Act form software offers a PDF feature for companies to email to recipients, saving paper and time. Download and try it at no obligation by visiting http://www.halfpricesoft.com.
Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 02, 2018
The latest ez1095 ACA (Affordable Care Act) Software from Halfpricesoft.com can save a business time, money and paper with the PDF feature. By utilizing the PDF feature, customers can email recipients information rather than mailing it out.
“A PDF feature is included in the latest ez1095 ACA software application to save money, time and the environment.” said Dr. Ge, the founder of Halfpricesoft.com.
The guidelines for the healthcare law requires all employers with 50 or more full-time employees or equivalents to file an annual return reporting health insurance they offered employees.
ez1095 software is compatible Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP and other Windows systems. Potential customers can download and try this software at no obligation by visiting http://www.halfpricesoft.com/aca-1095/form-1095-software-free-download.asp
Desktop 2017 ez1095 offers business owners the ability to:
-Backup and restore feature included in cost
-Prepare form 1095-B, 1094-B, 1095-C & 1094-C
-Print 1095-C or 1095-B paper forms for recipients
-Print paper form 1095-C & 1094-C or 1095-B & 1094-B forms for IRS
-PDF Print forms for recipients in digital format
-Fast data import feature
-Efile feature: generate XML document that customers can upload to IRS site. (The efile feature is approved by IRS.)
-Support unlimited accounts, recipients and ACA forms
Priced at just $195 for a single user version, ($295 for efile and PDF version) this ACA forms filing software saves employers time and money by processing forms, in-house. To learn more about ez1095 ACA software, customers can visit http://www.halfpricesoft.com/aca-1095/aca-1095-software.asp
About halfpricesoft.com
Founded in 2003, Halfpricesoft.com has established itself as a leader in meeting the software needs of small businesses around the world with its payroll software, employee attendance tracking software, check printing software, W2 software, 1099 software and barcode generating software. It continues to grow with its philosophy that small business owners need affordable, user friendly, super simple, and totally risk-free software. Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.
Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 02, 2018
The latest ez1095 ACA (Affordable Care Act) Software from Halfpricesoft.com can save a business time, money and paper with the PDF feature. By utilizing the PDF feature, customers can email recipients information rather than mailing it out.
“A PDF feature is included in the latest ez1095 ACA software application to save money, time and the environment.” said Dr. Ge, the founder of Halfpricesoft.com.
The guidelines for the healthcare law requires all employers with 50 or more full-time employees or equivalents to file an annual return reporting health insurance they offered employees.
ez1095 software is compatible Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP and other Windows systems. Potential customers can download and try this software at no obligation by visiting http://www.halfpricesoft.com/aca-1095/form-1095-software-free-download.asp
Desktop 2017 ez1095 offers business owners the ability to:
-Backup and restore feature included in cost
-Prepare form 1095-B, 1094-B, 1095-C & 1094-C
-Print 1095-C or 1095-B paper forms for recipients
-Print paper form 1095-C & 1094-C or 1095-B & 1094-B forms for IRS
-PDF Print forms for recipients in digital format
-Fast data import feature
-Efile feature: generate XML document that customers can upload to IRS site. (The efile feature is approved by IRS.)
-Support unlimited accounts, recipients and ACA forms
Priced at just $195 for a single user version, ($295 for efile and PDF version) this ACA forms filing software saves employers time and money by processing forms, in-house. To learn more about ez1095 ACA software, customers can visit http://www.halfpricesoft.com/aca-1095/aca-1095-software.asp
About halfpricesoft.com
Founded in 2003, Halfpricesoft.com has established itself as a leader in meeting the software needs of small businesses around the world with its payroll software, employee attendance tracking software, check printing software, W2 software, 1099 software and barcode generating software. It continues to grow with its philosophy that small business owners need affordable, user friendly, super simple, and totally risk-free software. Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.
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7 things to know today and 10 companies with the best pay and benefits
Good morning, Orlando! Money isn't everything, but for most employees, the numbers after the dollar sign on the front of their paychecks do matter quite a bit. Employee benefits also play a big role in defining what a great place to work is. With that in mind, job listing site Indeed tapped its database of 18 million employee reviews to find the top 15 U.S. employers, as ranked by compensation and benefits. The site took into account the most common benefits — health insurance, parental…
Reported by bizjournals 21 hours ago.
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Oxford Life Insurance Company joins TrustedChoice.com Digital Marketing Platform
Partnership drives visibility with licensed agents not currently appointed with the national life insurance and annuities company
MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB) March 02, 2018
TrustedChoice.com today welcomed Oxford Life Insurance Company (Oxford Life) to its digital marketing platform.
Oxford Life is notably the first health and life insurance partner to join the TrustedChoice.com platform. The company specializes in supporting seniors with niche, top-tier insurance products that help meet their financial needs, with an emphasis on final expense whole life insurance, Medicare Supplement insurance and annuities.
Today, 63,000 insurance consumers visit TrustedChoice.com each month to learn about life insurance and connect with an expert advisor. Oxford Life’s participation on the digital platform advances their ability to drive new appointments with TrustedChoice.com agents who currently sell products within their specialized categories.
“For TrustedChoice.com agents licensed for life and health insurance and not yet appointed with us, our final expense and single premium whole life insurance, annuities, and Medicare Supplement insurance provides complementary coverage at competitive rates and commissions. They are absolutely worth reviewing,” stated Mike Quaranta, Oxford Life vice president and chief marketing officer. “As consumer referrals begin to roll in from TrustedChoice.com, we couldn’t be more excited about our increased visibility, both with insurance buyers and agents eager to benefit their clients.”
Oxford Life marks nearly 70 insurance companies participating in the digital referral program. “As our insurer network continues to grow, delivering life insurance referrals will create tons of value throughout the buyer-to-agent-to-insurer chain,” said Ryan Hanley, TrustedChoice.com senior vice president of marketing. “Not only are we connecting the right consumer to the right advisor for the best coverage, we’re providing both agents and Oxford Life new cross-sell and revenue-generating opportunities—that’s what I call a win-win-win.”
About Oxford Life
Oxford Life Insurance Company was founded in the Grand Canyon state of Arizona in 1965 and remains committed to supporting the senior market through life insurance, annuity, and Medicare supplement products that meet their financial needs. Oxford Life is continually working to support its mission of enabling seniors to live with dignity in their retirement years through financial security. Oxford Life is a strong player in every field where it competes, and constantly strives to be a leader in all categories of the life insurance and annuity markets. Oxford Life is a member of AMERCO, a publicly traded financial holding network. Agents not yet appointed with Oxford Life can apply here.
About TrustedChoice.com
TrustedChoice.com builds technology solutions that enable independent insurance agencies and insurance companies to compete in a digital-first marketplace. Insurance content hosted on TrustedChoice.com attracts, educates and matches insurance consumers with participating independent insurance agents and insurance companies to drive relationships and revenue. As the industry’s leading digital referral platform for the independent agent channel, TrustedChoice.com created 10 million monthly brand impressions, attracted nearly 6 million website visits and connected 130,000 new business opportunities to participating independent agencies in 2017. Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.
MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB) March 02, 2018
TrustedChoice.com today welcomed Oxford Life Insurance Company (Oxford Life) to its digital marketing platform.
Oxford Life is notably the first health and life insurance partner to join the TrustedChoice.com platform. The company specializes in supporting seniors with niche, top-tier insurance products that help meet their financial needs, with an emphasis on final expense whole life insurance, Medicare Supplement insurance and annuities.
Today, 63,000 insurance consumers visit TrustedChoice.com each month to learn about life insurance and connect with an expert advisor. Oxford Life’s participation on the digital platform advances their ability to drive new appointments with TrustedChoice.com agents who currently sell products within their specialized categories.
“For TrustedChoice.com agents licensed for life and health insurance and not yet appointed with us, our final expense and single premium whole life insurance, annuities, and Medicare Supplement insurance provides complementary coverage at competitive rates and commissions. They are absolutely worth reviewing,” stated Mike Quaranta, Oxford Life vice president and chief marketing officer. “As consumer referrals begin to roll in from TrustedChoice.com, we couldn’t be more excited about our increased visibility, both with insurance buyers and agents eager to benefit their clients.”
Oxford Life marks nearly 70 insurance companies participating in the digital referral program. “As our insurer network continues to grow, delivering life insurance referrals will create tons of value throughout the buyer-to-agent-to-insurer chain,” said Ryan Hanley, TrustedChoice.com senior vice president of marketing. “Not only are we connecting the right consumer to the right advisor for the best coverage, we’re providing both agents and Oxford Life new cross-sell and revenue-generating opportunities—that’s what I call a win-win-win.”
About Oxford Life
Oxford Life Insurance Company was founded in the Grand Canyon state of Arizona in 1965 and remains committed to supporting the senior market through life insurance, annuity, and Medicare supplement products that meet their financial needs. Oxford Life is continually working to support its mission of enabling seniors to live with dignity in their retirement years through financial security. Oxford Life is a strong player in every field where it competes, and constantly strives to be a leader in all categories of the life insurance and annuity markets. Oxford Life is a member of AMERCO, a publicly traded financial holding network. Agents not yet appointed with Oxford Life can apply here.
About TrustedChoice.com
TrustedChoice.com builds technology solutions that enable independent insurance agencies and insurance companies to compete in a digital-first marketplace. Insurance content hosted on TrustedChoice.com attracts, educates and matches insurance consumers with participating independent insurance agents and insurance companies to drive relationships and revenue. As the industry’s leading digital referral platform for the independent agent channel, TrustedChoice.com created 10 million monthly brand impressions, attracted nearly 6 million website visits and connected 130,000 new business opportunities to participating independent agencies in 2017. Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.
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Utah GOP lawmaker’s plan to expand Medicaid passes 1st vote
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Republican lawmaker’s plan to expand Medicaid in Utah has passed its first hurdle in the state Legislature. Republican Rep. Robert Spendlove’s plan would expand the state and federal health insurance program to cover about 60,000 of the state’s poor living just under the poverty level. Spendlove’s plan would require […]
Reported by Seattle Times 15 hours ago.
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Health insurance exchange eHealth under pressure on soft 2017 revenue and accounting change; shares down 9%
Reported by SeekingAlpha 16 hours ago.
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Lawmakers, governor at odds on how to spend $80 million
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s governor faces a showdown with the Legislature over an unexpected budget windfall. The state had set aside $80 million last year to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program when federal funding was in danger. But now that federal funding is guaranteed for the near future, three competing visions have […]
Reported by Seattle Times 11 hours ago.
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WesternU College of Podiatric Medicine Dean’s Lecture Focuses on Universal Health Insurance
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science President and CEO David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD, talks about universal health care at the College of Podiatric Medicine Lester J. Jones Dean’s Distinguished Lecture March 1, 2018 at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California.
POMONA, Calif. (PRWEB) March 02, 2018
Attaining health care coverage for everyone in the U.S. seems an impossible task. But it is a moral issue that needs to be resolved in order for our society to progress, according to Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science President and CEO David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD.
Carlisle presented “Sisyphus and the Sailboat: The Course Toward Universal Health Insurance in the U.S.” at the College of Podiatric Medicine Lester J. Jones Dean’s Distinguished Lecture March 1, 2018 at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California.
Carlisle, who grew up in central Los Angeles, views universal health insurance as an issue of social and moral justice. As Theodore Parker said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
“When I was little I used to think it was normal to sit in a waiting room with 50 other people waiting for hours to see the doctor. I have relatives who have been dependent on the county health care systems in Los Angeles in communities like Compton,” he said. “For me, this topic is very personal and very visceral, and I think it speaks to the moral challenge facing all Americans because I’ve definitely had relatives who have not had health insurance. I’ve had relatives who have suffered because they couldn’t see a doctor.”
Carlisle displayed a list of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Most of them have extremely low percentages – 0, 1.3, 1 – of uninsured residents. The biggest spikes come with Mexico (17.5 percent) and the U.S. -- 18 percent uninsured at the time of the survey.
The U.S. has poor health care outcomes such as life expectancy and infant mortality compared to other industrialized nations. It also is behind many other countries when measuring amenable mortality, or death from conditions that are treatable.
“The U.S. does not rank at the top of any percentile list among industrialized nations of the world in terms of health care outcomes,” Carlisle said. “It would be too simplistic of me to blame all of this on (lack of insurance), but to be sure, it’s a major factor.”
Two health care economists in 1989 called the American health care system a “paradox of excess and deprivation,” a description that holds true today, Carlisle said.
“We’re spending way more than we should be on health care given our per capita income in this country, as much as 50 percent more than countries like Canada or Belgium, for example,” Carlisle said. “Despite that expenditure, our health care statistics are at the back of the pack.”
Several presidents attempted and failed to implement universal health insurance, including Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Carlisle compared these efforts to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was condemned to an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill, only to watch it roll back down and having to repeat the task.
President Barack Obama finally achieved health care reform through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010. Although the ACA was not perfect, it did make an impact, Carlisle said. In the first quarter of 2013, 18 percent of the U.S. population was uninsured. That dropped to 11 percent toward the end of 2015.
States such as Arkansas and Kentucky chose to expand their Medicaid programs, and those expansions are associated with significant reductions in unpaid bills and medical bankruptcies.
“More people were getting diabetes diagnosed and getting into therapy. People with behavioral health issues were getting care when they couldn’t get care before,” Carlisle said. “All these things were happening associated with the ACA.”
But a new administration in the White House brought new attempts to repeal and replace the ACA. The ACA has not been repealed, but it is wilting to death with reductions in cost-sharing subsidies, repeal of the individual mandate penalty and other big hits, Carlisle said.
“In the last few months we’re seeing over one million more people in the U.S. without health insurance. And we just hope this trend is not going to continue,” he said.
But Carlisle takes an optimistic view of recent developments, likening health care reform to sailing into the wind. A sailboat cannot sail directly into the wind because of the “dead zone.” Instead, it must tack back and forth to ultimately make progress.
“The United States is sailing into the headwinds, trying to achieve universal health insurance. But we can’t get there directly. We have to tack back and forth because the headwinds are powerful,” he said.
Canada took about 50 years to achieve universal health coverage. Carlisle said. The U.S. can and must also get there so that we can address other problems, such as education and making the country a better place.
“Health care does not need to be front and center in the United States. We need to eliminate that as a major social issue because all the other industrialized nations have done so. We can do so also,” Carlisle said. “That is my hope.”
Carlisle closed with one request to students.
“When you’re seeing those patients that you see in your clinics, think about those patients that can’t come in to see you because they don’t have health insurance. Because they’re out there,” he said. “I would encourage you to be advocates to make sure that everybody can get health insurance so anybody, regardless of their station in life, can come and see you as a health care professional.” Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
POMONA, Calif. (PRWEB) March 02, 2018
Attaining health care coverage for everyone in the U.S. seems an impossible task. But it is a moral issue that needs to be resolved in order for our society to progress, according to Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science President and CEO David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD.
Carlisle presented “Sisyphus and the Sailboat: The Course Toward Universal Health Insurance in the U.S.” at the College of Podiatric Medicine Lester J. Jones Dean’s Distinguished Lecture March 1, 2018 at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California.
Carlisle, who grew up in central Los Angeles, views universal health insurance as an issue of social and moral justice. As Theodore Parker said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
“When I was little I used to think it was normal to sit in a waiting room with 50 other people waiting for hours to see the doctor. I have relatives who have been dependent on the county health care systems in Los Angeles in communities like Compton,” he said. “For me, this topic is very personal and very visceral, and I think it speaks to the moral challenge facing all Americans because I’ve definitely had relatives who have not had health insurance. I’ve had relatives who have suffered because they couldn’t see a doctor.”
Carlisle displayed a list of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Most of them have extremely low percentages – 0, 1.3, 1 – of uninsured residents. The biggest spikes come with Mexico (17.5 percent) and the U.S. -- 18 percent uninsured at the time of the survey.
The U.S. has poor health care outcomes such as life expectancy and infant mortality compared to other industrialized nations. It also is behind many other countries when measuring amenable mortality, or death from conditions that are treatable.
“The U.S. does not rank at the top of any percentile list among industrialized nations of the world in terms of health care outcomes,” Carlisle said. “It would be too simplistic of me to blame all of this on (lack of insurance), but to be sure, it’s a major factor.”
Two health care economists in 1989 called the American health care system a “paradox of excess and deprivation,” a description that holds true today, Carlisle said.
“We’re spending way more than we should be on health care given our per capita income in this country, as much as 50 percent more than countries like Canada or Belgium, for example,” Carlisle said. “Despite that expenditure, our health care statistics are at the back of the pack.”
Several presidents attempted and failed to implement universal health insurance, including Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Carlisle compared these efforts to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was condemned to an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill, only to watch it roll back down and having to repeat the task.
President Barack Obama finally achieved health care reform through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010. Although the ACA was not perfect, it did make an impact, Carlisle said. In the first quarter of 2013, 18 percent of the U.S. population was uninsured. That dropped to 11 percent toward the end of 2015.
States such as Arkansas and Kentucky chose to expand their Medicaid programs, and those expansions are associated with significant reductions in unpaid bills and medical bankruptcies.
“More people were getting diabetes diagnosed and getting into therapy. People with behavioral health issues were getting care when they couldn’t get care before,” Carlisle said. “All these things were happening associated with the ACA.”
But a new administration in the White House brought new attempts to repeal and replace the ACA. The ACA has not been repealed, but it is wilting to death with reductions in cost-sharing subsidies, repeal of the individual mandate penalty and other big hits, Carlisle said.
“In the last few months we’re seeing over one million more people in the U.S. without health insurance. And we just hope this trend is not going to continue,” he said.
But Carlisle takes an optimistic view of recent developments, likening health care reform to sailing into the wind. A sailboat cannot sail directly into the wind because of the “dead zone.” Instead, it must tack back and forth to ultimately make progress.
“The United States is sailing into the headwinds, trying to achieve universal health insurance. But we can’t get there directly. We have to tack back and forth because the headwinds are powerful,” he said.
Canada took about 50 years to achieve universal health coverage. Carlisle said. The U.S. can and must also get there so that we can address other problems, such as education and making the country a better place.
“Health care does not need to be front and center in the United States. We need to eliminate that as a major social issue because all the other industrialized nations have done so. We can do so also,” Carlisle said. “That is my hope.”
Carlisle closed with one request to students.
“When you’re seeing those patients that you see in your clinics, think about those patients that can’t come in to see you because they don’t have health insurance. Because they’re out there,” he said. “I would encourage you to be advocates to make sure that everybody can get health insurance so anybody, regardless of their station in life, can come and see you as a health care professional.” Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
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Ketamine could be the new drug for depression that researchers have been looking for
· *Ketamine is emerging as a potential new treatment for some types of depression.*· *A new review published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry outlines the promise and limitations of existing ketamine research.
*
· *Some researchers have called the drug "the most important discovery in half a century."*
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It's been called "the most important discovery in half a century," and for some of the people who have tried ketamine, it may feel that way too.
The compound has a reputation as a party drug, but ketamine is increasingly being studied for its potential use as a rapid-fire treatment for depression. In people who live with the disease, thoughts of suicide can strike suddenly and without warning. Fast-acting, successful interventions are hard to come by.
But a spate of recent research suggests that ketamine could provide quick and powerful relief — even to people whose depression has repeatedly failed to respond to other medications and to those who are suicidal.
Experts say they're onto something promising. In a field that hasn't seen a new class of drugs in nearly four decades and in which patients are often desperate and suicidal, that kind of sentiment holds a lot of weight.
"Imagine arriving in the emergency room with severe pain from a kidney stone — pain so bad that you can't think. You'll do anything to make it go away. And the doctors say, 'here's a drug that we've been using for 30 years, it works 50-60% of the time, and it should start to work in 4-6 weeks'" Cristina Cusin, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard University, told Business Insider. "That's currently the best we can do" for someone who is suicidal.
Cusin co-authored a large new review of the existing research on ketamine that was published this month in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. Her findings shed light on the need for new treatments, but she also advises caution for patients.
"We are just scratching the surface of the mechanisms of action with ketamine," Cusin said.
*Trying to tackle a uniquely troubling problem*
For her review, Cusin looked at almost 40 ketamine studies that involved brain imaging.
Cusin faced challenges in assembling very different studies into one review, but she came up with some key takeaways. For one, she observed that people given ketamine experience measurable brain changes — many of them in areas that have been tied to our ability to process and regulate emotions.
Ketamine also appeared to increase activity in parts of the brain linked with reward processing, which would help to explain some of its antidepressant effects.
Nine out of 10 people who die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their deaths, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). But current interventions for those who find themselves contemplating suicide are limited to hotlines, sedative drugs, and talk therapy.
Rates of suicide in the US have risen steadily over the past few years, with roughly 123 people dying this way per day, according to the AFSP. Men die by suicide 3.5 times more often than women.
The reasons behind this rise are complex, but two of the biggest problems are a lack of access to mental health care and the stigma that continues to shroud mental illness.
"If you have asthma, it’s not considered your fault. But somehow if part of your brain isn’t functioning, it’s your fault," Cusin said. "It's a residual leftover from more ignorant times."
It's easy to see why the prospect of a new approach would inspire hope.
*The promise of a new drug*
Physicians and psychiatrists have been doling out the same drugs to people with depression for decades. But research suggests that while antidepressants can work wonders for some people, they don't help everyone. The medications also come with a range of unpleasant side effects that can include weight gain, less interest in sex, anxiety, and insomnia.
Like Cusin, most scientists who work in the space think it's time for a new tactic.
Some of them have found hope in recent months in psychedelic drugs like ayahuasca and magic mushrooms — which appear to reduce depressive symptoms by increasing the connectivity among previously segregated parts of the brain. But those drugs are widely illegal, and many people aren't interested in having a full-blown psychedelic experience.
Several recent studies published over the past few months suggest that ketamine could be the alternative drug people are looking for, since it is legal and also appears to work quickly.
Last December, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center who were working with depressed and suicidal patients found that ketamine worked significantly better at curbing their suicidal thoughts than a commonly used sedative. Most participants in the study saw their moods began to lift within 24 hours. In some people, those effects lasted more than a month.
The authors of a 2012 review of four preliminary studies on ketamine in patients with severe depression expressed surprise at how rapidly the drug appeared to produce positive, precise results.
"The findings were unanticipated, especially the robustness and rapidity of benefit," the authors wrote in their paper. "Ketamine appeared to directly target core depressive symptoms such as sad mood, suicidality, helplessness and worthlessness, rather than inducing a nonspecific mood-elevating effect."
The researchers behind another 2012 study on the drug went called ketamine "the most important discovery in half a century."
Ketamine's promise has not gone unnoticed among pharmaceutical companies. Johnson and Johnson is developing a form of ketamine that could be better tolerated and would be marketed as an antidepressant. And Allergan is in the last phase of clinical trials with a drug that acts on the same receptor as ketamine.
However, Cusin believes we need more research.
*The biggest unanswered question: long-term effects*
Some people with depression are opting to pay for pricey treatments at a range of clinics currently offering the drug — if they can afford it. Treatments can cost between $400 and $1,000 per infusion, and most clinics recommend that patients receive more than one ketamine infusion to get the maximum benefit.
However, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the existing drug or any new formulation of it to treat depression. Using ketamine as an antidepressant is therefore considered "off-label," which means it is up to health insurance providers to decide whether to offer patients any reimbursement.
Plus, like any drug, ketamine has risks and side effects; some studies suggest that could include blood pressure complications. Most importantly, we don't have many studies that tell us what happens in the long term after a ketamine infusion. Most existing ketamine and depression studies have been limited to several weeks, so it remains unclear how long the benefits last and what the long-term effects may be.
Because of these complications and unanswered questions, many people wanting to try ketamine for depression are left in a sort of limbo.
But Cusin believes the drug "absolutely has potential."
"In the next few years I'm really hopeful that we’re going to see new drugs that are completely different than what we have now," she said.*DON'T MISS: A 24-year old got a mysterious disease where her body attacked her brain — and scientists are learning it's more common than they thought*
*SEE ALSO: An influential group of doctors says all teens should get screened for depression — here are some of the questions they ask*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Scientists say combining these 2 activities could be an effective way to fight depression Reported by Business Insider 19 hours ago.
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These 10 companies have the best pay and benefits, according to Indeed
Money isn't everything, but for most employees, the numbers after the dollar sign on the front of their paychecks do matter quite a bit. Employee benefits also play a big role in defining what a great place to work is. With that in mind, job listing site Indeed tapped its database of 18 million employee reviews to find the top 15 U.S. employers, as ranked by compensation and benefits. The site took into account the most common benefits — health insurance, parental leave, stock options and company…
Reported by bizjournals 15 hours ago.
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Ngati Whatua Orakei joins with Nib Holdings to provide free private health insurance
Auckland-based Ngati Whatua Orakei has joined with ASX-listed Nib Holdings' New Zealand unit to provide free private health insurance for all its members in a deal that will cost the trust about $3 million a year if everyone joins....
Reported by New Zealand Herald 6 hours ago.
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Record 30 per cent increase in complaints about health insurance
A startling 30 per cent increase has seen the total number of complaints to the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman hit a record high.
Reported by Brisbane Times 3 hours ago.
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Chubb appoints Scott Simpson as Singapore’s new Country President
SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 5 March 2018* *-* *Chubb today announced the appointment of *Scott Simpson* as the new Country President for its general insurance business in Singapore. Mr. Simpson replaces Adam Clifford who, as previously announced, will move on to a new role as Chubb's Division President, Continental Europe.
As the new Country President, Mr. Simpson will have overall responsibility for the growth and financial results of the operations in Singapore across all lines of business i.e. Property & Casualty, Accident & Health and Personal Lines. Mr. Simpson is currently serving as Head of State Distribution, Australia, where he leads the National Underwriting Centre, Independent Broker Unit and Global Broker Unit underwriting teams.
Mr. Simpson joined Chubb in 2005 as a Commercial Lines Underwriter in Sydney and since then, had held numerous leadership roles including Branch Manager for Melbourne and Head of Northern Region, spanning New South Wales and Queensland. In his new role, Mr. Simpson will relocate from Sydney to Singapore and will report to Paul McNamee, Regional President for Chubb in Asia Pacific.
On the change in Singapore's leadership, Mr. McNamee said, "Scott is a skillful leader with a proven track record of success. I'm confident that he has the breadth and depth of experience to steer the company to match the ambition and opportunity which Singapore affords us as a highly strategic market for our Asia Pacific business."
*About Chubb*
Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide.
* * Reported by Media OutReach 3 hours ago.
As the new Country President, Mr. Simpson will have overall responsibility for the growth and financial results of the operations in Singapore across all lines of business i.e. Property & Casualty, Accident & Health and Personal Lines. Mr. Simpson is currently serving as Head of State Distribution, Australia, where he leads the National Underwriting Centre, Independent Broker Unit and Global Broker Unit underwriting teams.
Mr. Simpson joined Chubb in 2005 as a Commercial Lines Underwriter in Sydney and since then, had held numerous leadership roles including Branch Manager for Melbourne and Head of Northern Region, spanning New South Wales and Queensland. In his new role, Mr. Simpson will relocate from Sydney to Singapore and will report to Paul McNamee, Regional President for Chubb in Asia Pacific.
On the change in Singapore's leadership, Mr. McNamee said, "Scott is a skillful leader with a proven track record of success. I'm confident that he has the breadth and depth of experience to steer the company to match the ambition and opportunity which Singapore affords us as a highly strategic market for our Asia Pacific business."
*About Chubb*
Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide.
* * Reported by Media OutReach 3 hours ago.
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Study.com Named One of the Best Workplaces in the Bay Area by Fortune and Great Place to Work®
Study.com took the No. 15 spot on the list of top small and medium companies
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (PRWEB) March 05, 2018
Study.com has been named one of the 2018 best companies to work for in the Bay Area by Fortune and Great Place to Work. The ranking considered more than 43,000 employee surveys from companies across the San Francisco Bay region. Study.com took the No. 15 spot on the list of top small and medium companies.
Great Place to Work, a research and consulting firm, evaluated more than 50 elements of team members’ experiences on the job. These included employee pride in the organization’s community impact, belief that their work makes a difference and feeling their work has special meaning. Rankings are based on employees’ experiences, no matter who they are or what they do.
“The Bay Area is home to some of the best talent in the country and we’re honored to receive such positive feedback from our employees and to be named to such a prestigious list,” said Adrian Ridner, CEO & Co-founder of Study.com. “We’re dedicated to fostering a culture of learning and purpose for our employees with our lifelong learning benefits, community impact initiatives, dedicated innovation time and more.”
The Best Workplaces in the Bay Area truly stand out in the competitive Bay Area marketplace. In an employee survey, Study.com received high rankings in areas such as atmosphere, communication, management and more. A full summary of these ratings can be found on Great Place to Work's website.
Study.com offers employees a variety of attractive benefits like fully covered health insurance options, team trips and happy hours, but much of the employee enthusiasm at Study.com is connected to a philanthropic program called Working Scholars, which offers Bay Area residents in select cities the opportunity to earn a free bachelor’s degree. Through this program, Study.com employees have a chance to give back to the community and see the real impact of their work.
“As a Bay Area company, Great Place to Work is proud to have these Best Workplaces as our friends and neighbors,” said Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. “Organizations like Study.com set the bar for making the Bay Area a global hub for diversity and innovation.”
The Best Workplaces in the Bay Area is one of a series of rankings by Great Place to Work and Fortune based on employee feedback from Great Place to Work-Certified™ organizations.
About Study.com
Study.com is an online education platform that helps learners of all ages excel academically and close skills gaps. From test prep and homework help to earning low-cost college credit and developing workplace skills, Study.com’s online courses, short animated video lessons and study tools have made learning simple for over 30 million students, teachers and working professionals. Study.com was founded in 2002 and is a privately-held company located in Mountain View, Calif. Find us online at http://www.study.com or download the mobile app from the iOS app store or Google Play.
About Great Place to Work
Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through its certification programs, Great Place to Work recognizes outstanding workplace cultures and produces the annual Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For®" and Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small & Medium Companies, industries and, internationally, countries and regions. Through its culture consulting services, Great Place to Work helps clients create great workplaces that outpace peers on key business metrics like revenue growth, profitability, retention and stock performance. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (PRWEB) March 05, 2018
Study.com has been named one of the 2018 best companies to work for in the Bay Area by Fortune and Great Place to Work. The ranking considered more than 43,000 employee surveys from companies across the San Francisco Bay region. Study.com took the No. 15 spot on the list of top small and medium companies.
Great Place to Work, a research and consulting firm, evaluated more than 50 elements of team members’ experiences on the job. These included employee pride in the organization’s community impact, belief that their work makes a difference and feeling their work has special meaning. Rankings are based on employees’ experiences, no matter who they are or what they do.
“The Bay Area is home to some of the best talent in the country and we’re honored to receive such positive feedback from our employees and to be named to such a prestigious list,” said Adrian Ridner, CEO & Co-founder of Study.com. “We’re dedicated to fostering a culture of learning and purpose for our employees with our lifelong learning benefits, community impact initiatives, dedicated innovation time and more.”
The Best Workplaces in the Bay Area truly stand out in the competitive Bay Area marketplace. In an employee survey, Study.com received high rankings in areas such as atmosphere, communication, management and more. A full summary of these ratings can be found on Great Place to Work's website.
Study.com offers employees a variety of attractive benefits like fully covered health insurance options, team trips and happy hours, but much of the employee enthusiasm at Study.com is connected to a philanthropic program called Working Scholars, which offers Bay Area residents in select cities the opportunity to earn a free bachelor’s degree. Through this program, Study.com employees have a chance to give back to the community and see the real impact of their work.
“As a Bay Area company, Great Place to Work is proud to have these Best Workplaces as our friends and neighbors,” said Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. “Organizations like Study.com set the bar for making the Bay Area a global hub for diversity and innovation.”
The Best Workplaces in the Bay Area is one of a series of rankings by Great Place to Work and Fortune based on employee feedback from Great Place to Work-Certified™ organizations.
About Study.com
Study.com is an online education platform that helps learners of all ages excel academically and close skills gaps. From test prep and homework help to earning low-cost college credit and developing workplace skills, Study.com’s online courses, short animated video lessons and study tools have made learning simple for over 30 million students, teachers and working professionals. Study.com was founded in 2002 and is a privately-held company located in Mountain View, Calif. Find us online at http://www.study.com or download the mobile app from the iOS app store or Google Play.
About Great Place to Work
Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through its certification programs, Great Place to Work recognizes outstanding workplace cultures and produces the annual Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For®" and Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small & Medium Companies, industries and, internationally, countries and regions. Through its culture consulting services, Great Place to Work helps clients create great workplaces that outpace peers on key business metrics like revenue growth, profitability, retention and stock performance. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
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Activus Rebrands as Cegedim Insurance Solutions
BRISTOL, England and PARIS, March 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Provider of leading health insurance management solution Actisure to drive the International Division's expansion Activus Ltd. has rebrand...
Reported by FinanzNachrichten.de 2 hours ago.
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